The present teachings relate generally to a file creation tool and the conversion of structured data for populating a grid, either structured or unstructured. In one embodiment, the present teachings relates to a file creation tool that creates a surface wind and pressure forcing file, fort.22 file, in a format appropriate for the ADvanced CIRCulation (ADCIRC) model.
ADCIRC is a system of computer programs that solves time dependent, free surface circulation and transport problems in two and three dimensions. The equations discretized within the ADCIRC model are often used to represent coastal ocean dynamics. Typical ADCIRC applications have included: (i) modeling tides and wind driven circulation, (ii) analysis of hurricane storm surge and flooding, (iii) dredging feasibility and material disposal studies, (iv) larval transport studies, (v) near shore marine operations.
Execution of such a numerical model of the coastal ocean requires the specification of surface meteorological data such as winds and atmospheric pressure. The fort.22 file, specific to the ADCIRC model nomenclature, is the text file containing the needed meteorological data that will be used as model forcing. The data are prescribed at every node in the model's unstructured mesh of triangles. Typically, the process of preparing the fort.22 file, or any data file used as input to as numerical model, is extremely tedious and time-consuming because of the large amount of information from different sources that is required.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a method or system that provides a user with a tool within which to facilitate the reading, interpolation and time series creation of meteorological forcing that can come from a range of external sources with different formats and grid structures.